To prepare for a potential pandemic of avian influenza caused by H5N1, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first vaccine boosted so its doses can provide stronger immune responses against the flu virus.
H5N1
Should You Be Chicken About the New Chicken Flu?
Researchers discovered it before it became a pandemic, but there’s no vaccine for it yet
Most Recent H7N9 Flu Deadlier Than H1N1
The first estimates of the severity of the H7N9 influenza virus show that about one-third of people who were hospitalized with the infection died. And flu experts warn that the strain could reappear in the next flu season.
H7N9 Bird Flu: Could Animals Other Than Birds Harbor the Virus?
Researchers have more questions than answers about the latest bird flu circulating in China, including whether birds are the only reservoir for the virus.
Bird Flu Is Back in China, but This Time It’s H7N9
Flu season may be coming to an end in some parts of the world, but a new influenza virus harbored by birds may be starting its global assault.
Scientists Push to Resume Research On Virulent Man-Made Flu Virus
Researchers who voluntarily stopped work on a potent strain of influenza they created in the lab are hoping to end the moratorium on their studies.
A Bird Flu Spreads in Seals. Could Humans Be Next?
Last fall, 162 harbor seal pups mysteriously washed up dead on the shores of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Puzzled, scientists conducted autopsies on five of the animals, which suggested that a respiratory infection had killed …
H5N1: Bird Flu Pandemic May Be Closer than Thought, Study Finds
It may take as few as five mutations for H5N1 to go from being a bird-only problem to a potentially deadly human pandemic flu, researchers report.
H5N1 Paper Published: Deadly, Transmissible Bird Flu Could Be Closer than Thought
After an epic debate over whether to release research detailing how scientists created H5N1 in the lab, Nature finally published one of the two controversial papers on Wednesday.
Two TIME 100 Honorees We Love
It’s that season again: time for the big reveal of the TIME 100 — our editors’ picks for the most influential and interesting people in the world.
Dangers of Man-Made Bird Flu Are Exaggerated, Its Creators Say
Researchers who created a so-called superstrain of H5N1 bird flu say the virus may not be as lethal or as virulent as has been widely suggested.
Bird Flu: More Common, Less Deadly than We Thought?
A new study suggests H5N1 is more easily spread and far less deadly than scientists believed. What does that mean for work on potentially lethal man-made versions of the virus?
Government Panel Defends Censorship of Bird Flu Virus Research
Deeming research on a man-made strain of H5N1 a potential bioterror threat, a federal advisory group defends its recommendation to keep details of the work secret.